This is the debut album by solo Chinese avant-garde extreme metal act Smiqra.
Brought to us by the artist behind the Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites), Smiqra take the more avant-garde aspects of the last Ὁπλίτης release Παραμαινομένη and runs with them. Rgyaɡ̇dźé! is a 42-minute explosion of avant-garde metal that’s dizzying. Continue reading “Smiqra – Rɡyaɡ̇dźé! (Review)”
This is the third album from Рожь (otherwise known as Rye), a one-man blackened doom band from Russia.
2023’s Всё was a record that made a strong impression, so it’s good to now have 40 minutes of new material from the artist behind Рожь. Знание contains just three tracks, but each is worth spending time with, as we’ll see. Continue reading “Рожь (Rye) – Знание (Review)”
This is the third album from French solo experimental act Mütterlein.
Following on from 2021’s split with Limbes and then debut album Bring Down the Flags, we now have the 40-minute Amidst the Flames, May Our Organs Resound. Continue reading “Mütterlein – Amidst the Flames, May Our Organs Resound (Review)”
This is the second album from international death metal band Jade.
As a subgenre, atmospheric death metal never really took off like its black metal counterpart did. However, if you want a good example of what it might look like, then look no further than Jade. Making a good impression with 2022’s The Pacification of Death, and cementing this with last year’s split with Sanctuarium, the 43-minute Mysteries of a Flowery Dream is one I’ve been looking forward to. Continue reading “Jade – Mysteries of a Flowery Dream (Review)”
This is the second album from Lust Hag, a solo black metal act from the US.
I didn’t expect a new Lust Hag album so soon after the artist’s first one from last year, but I shouldn’t have been surprised I suppose. After all, since then, she has also released Prayers Unanswered, (a split with Reaping Fields,), and a split with Genital Shame. As a big fan of Lust Hag, the 44-minute Irrevocably Drubbed is very well-received. Continue reading “Lust Hag – Irrevocably Drubbed (Review)”
Ghost Bath are a depressive black metal band from the US and this is their fifth album.
I do like a bit of Ghost Bath. Both 2017’s Starmourner and 2021’s Self Loather were very enjoyable, despite actually being quite different. Out if the two, Rose Thorn Necklace is probably closer in style overall to Self Loather, although is by no means a repeat of it. Continue reading “Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace (Review)”
Behemoth are a Polish blackened death metal band and this is their thirteenth album.
I thoroughly enjoyed 2018’s I Loved You at Your Darkest, but somehow missed its follow up. Not so with The Shit ov God, which gives us – dodgy name aside – 39 minutes of new material from Behemoth’s charismatic blend of death and black metal. Continue reading “Behemoth – The Shit ov God (Review)”
Eyes are a hardcore band from Denmark and this is their third album.
Throwing together noise rock and metal into a hardcore melting pot, Eyes have produced the 24-minute Spinner. Brought to us by members of the mighty LLNN, Spinner is the sort of album that’s an immensely fun and satisfying listen. Continue reading “Eyes – Spinner (Review)”
This is the second album by US deathgrinders Caustic Wound.
Caustic Wound contain current/ex-members of Corpus Offal, Magrudergrind, Mortiferum, and Cerebral Rot,, and Grinding Mechanism of Torment is a 28-minute platter of old-school ferocity. Providing us with largely short bursts of death metal-infused grindcore, this is for fans of bands such as Brutal Truth, Carcass, Exhumed, Napalm Death, Repulsion, and Terrorizer. Continue reading “Caustic Wound – Grinding Mechanism of Torment (Review)”
This is the second album from US death metallers Ominous Ruin.
Following on from 2021’s enjoyable Amidst Voices That Echo in Stone, Ominous Ruin have returned, now with a new vocalist. Requiem brings us 40 minutes of technical/brutal death metal, and it’s pretty damn good. Continue reading “Ominous Ruin – Requiem (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 